Constance Markievicz, the Red Countess of the workers

2023-12-02 10:30:00

He December 2 In 1918, Countess Constance Markievicz became the first woman in accessing the Camera of the Commons from United Kingdom. Not only was she the first woman, but she was a representative of Ireland and she had won by 66% of the votes in her district.

This victory was the culmination of a remarkable career, of an indomitable woman who was not only the first Sinn Féin MP, but the first officer of a modern army and the first to exercise a ministry. Constance Georgine Gore Booth, as her maiden name, nation in London in 1868, but her family moved to Ireland when she was a child. Her father, Sir Henry Gore-Booth, was a member of the local landed aristocracy; However, it was he who instilled in her daughter a social conscience that marked her for life.

Following the traditions of British nobility, Constance was introduced to Queen Victoria’s court when she turned eighteen. During her studies in London she joined the English suffragette movement, one of the first in the world to demand the role of women in policy. In Paris, where he continued his studies, he met the Polish count Casimir Markievicz. We suspect that upon marrying, Constance failed to promise obedience to her husband, since the relationship between the two was stormy and they ended up separating. Despite this, she kept her surname and title.

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Initially, Constance had had an artistic training, but following their separation she became involved in irish nationalist movements. He supported the strikes of the workers and joined the Irish Citizen Army to protect workers from repressions organized by the English authorities. In 1908, he joined the Ourselves (“ourselves” in Gaelic) and in 1911 it was arrested for the first time when demonstrating once morest a visit by George V.

Constance Markievicz, the Red Countess of the workers

During the Easter Rising of 1916, she commanded a women’s brigade. She was the first woman one sees army officer. As much as she dedicated herself to caring for the wounded, in the end she ended up participating as a sniper in the Saint Stephen confrontation, alongside James Connolly (1868-1916), the famous Irish nationalist leader and fervent opponent of his country’s participation in the first World War.

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During the Troubles, Connolly was seriously wounded and captured along with the leaders of the Irish movement, including Constance. They were all imprisoned in Kilmainham and sentenced to die. In the case of Countess Markievicz, since she was a woman, her death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Upon learning of this measure, she went to the Court Martial and told them: “You haven’t even had the decency to shoot me”. A year later, she was freed by a general amnesty.

Constance, who by then was already known as the Red Countess, continued with his militancy. In 1918, she was imprisoned once more for resisting the forced recruitment of Irish soldiers to fight in Europe.

By then, her popularity was enormous, which is why she was elected as the first woman elected to the British Parliament as an MP for Sinn Féin. However, like her running mates, He refused to take the seat.

In 1919it was declared Republic of Ireland. Éamon de Valera won the presidency and Constance was elected Minister of Labor in the new cabinet. In 1923, she was once more elected as an MP, but she refused to take office because she disagreed with the Anglo-Irish Pact. In 1926, she once more won the election, but she died from a appendicitis before being able to assume.

On the occasion of her funeral, these verses that Constance had written for her comrades who died in the fight for freedom were read. freedom of ireland.

They did not die, they are not asleep, / they only woke up from the dream of life. / They will fly over the shadow of our night, / envy, slander, hatred, suffering / and that agitation that men call happiness / but cannot always reach them.

Los few goods who had left them to those most in need.

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